Here's a recap of Constitution Day 2022 at AU

AU Provost Neil MacKinnon shared his experience about obtaining his U.S. citizenship with the audience. (photo by Liz Wright)

By Liz Wright | News editor

Augusta University hosted annual Constitution Read-In on Sept. 19, on the Summerville Campus, in the JSAC Roscoe Williams Ballroom to celebrate Constitution Day.

Attending volunteer tables included the CSRA League of Women Voters, Augusta University’s ROTC, AU Police Department and a small display of books relating to the Constitution and voting from AU’s library. Pizza, cake, cupcakes, and drinks were also served.

Attendees were able to learn about voter information from the League of Women Voters of the CSRA. (photo by Liz Wright)

“I love the reading of the Constitution because people know bits and pieces of the Constitution, but actually listening to it you kind of imagine them working it out,” said Jan Parsons, the co-president of the CSRA League of Women Voters. “There are things in there that we just don’t appreciate. it just gets us back to our roots and gets us back to the basics of everything that we do in our government because it comes from that Constitution.”

Brad Warren, AU’s inaugural dean of libraries, began the event with a short introduction about the purpose of the day’s program.

Brad Warren, inaugural dean of libraries at AU, introduces the event. (photo by Liz Wright)

The reading marked the 235th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, and the 60th anniversary of AU libraries being a part of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP).

“The purpose of the FDLP is to provide free public access to government publications throughout 1,150 depository libraries,” said Warren.

Following Warren, AU’s Provost Neil MacKinnon, who is originally from Canada and became a United States’ citizen in 2018, continued the ceremony by leading the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance and a reading of the Preamble.

After MacKinnon, several volunteers took turns reading different sections of the Constitution and the 27 amendments.

Towards the end of the event, Parsons said she believes the reading and sharing of the Constitution is important for various reasons.

“Everything that’s in the Constitution and our government affects our everyday lives, so we need to know about it,” she said. “You don’t understand how we got to where we are if you don’t understand the Constitution. If you understand the Constitution, it gives you the power then to influence other things.”

Once the reading was over, participants were invited to stay for a trivia game based on the United States’ citizenship test. John Hayes, an associate professor from Pamplin College, was announced the winner of the trivia game and awarded a medal to conclude the ceremony.

The Bell Ringer Instagram page live streamed the event.

Contact Liz Wright at elizwright@augusta.edu.